In response to recent challenges in urban areas, such as high monthly living costs, which tend to be unaffordable mainly for the younger generation, we came up with a concept of “Work in Work out.”

Our main goal is to develop the idea of sharing space while not using it. Our project is providing an option for contracting and expanding the setup of a flat based on the owner’s preferences. The principle works based on retractable capsules mechanism. As soon as the owner walks into the flat, the space would open itself and once they leave it would reduce, with no increase in the living costs. The material is designed to change its shape and in this way, the facade becomes interactive. We placed 56 flats into 625 m2, which means that a flat for one person would be 13 m2 in contracted state, and 27 m2 when expanded.

Our target market is a nowadays ever-increasing group of freelancers and so young and creative people at the beginning of their careers. As these prefer to work mainly from the comfort of their homes, the functionality of the space should not be impaired by its costs. The basement is designed to be a common area to work and socialize. We believe, that for young and creative individuals, meeting with others is a part of their inspiration. The moment they do not use their flats, the space may be made advantage of by everyone who wishes to spend time with others.

The convenient location of the “Work in Work out” flats by the quiet side of the Danube’s shore, which is only a couple of steps away from the busy city center, where there is anything a young professional could wish for. To be more precise, we have chosen the area under the Nový most bridge. Not only is it cheap, but the location offers great views over the city and the city center is easily accessible by bicycle.

The main building material we have chosen for the project are old shipping containers from the Bratislava Winter  harbour that would be destroyed anyway. This way we would be able to save money and build something interesting on a great spot. We aim to rent the flats as a short time place for people who have just started their careers. This approach would ensure a high return on investment for our investors. Finally, we strongly believe in success of our project, considering its costs and efficiency as well as its location. 

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Matrias options: shipping containers, concrete, glass, 

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Used software: Rhnoceros, SketchUp, Photoshop, Illistrator

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Team: Peter Dóža, Sára Chrobáková, Zuzana Kopanicová

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Stream from final round of competition: stream